Vanished Sibling
by KH777
Summary: After Alphonse disappears, Edward follows after a lead that there was a rich man who possessed a living suit of armor...


_**This is by no means intended to be yaoi.**_ Also, a _Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood_ fan fiction. I have only seen some of the anime so I apologize if there are any discrepancies. There are some OCs here but mainly because I needed people for Edward to interact with, and none of the characters that I've seen so far from the anime would work here. Also, I would probably have a hard time getting their personality right.

The blond boy tugged at his collar, huffing in irritation as he leaned one hand down on a nearby table. His mood was foul, how could it not be? There he stood, with a clean dress shirt with a light brown vest, and similar pants, trying to filter through the words of those around him. He knew he had heard the word, "short" or "small" several times which made his grip on the table tighten. Though, he didn't want too, he _must_ restrain himself. He couldn't get kicked out of this party for making a ruckus, too much was at stake. Also, he didn't even know they were talking about him anyway; there are plenty of things that could be considered small! At least, that's what he told himself as his facial features were twitching.

If the other people were scared to approach him, he wouldn't learn what he needed to know. There were much more important things than his height. Sadness gripped his heart for a moment as he glanced to the side, not used to being by his lonesome. As much as he would never admit it, he didn't like being alone. Alphonse was always here with him…

One day, he had just woken up from another nightmare but there wasn't that familiar voice there to calm him down. He had glanced to the left to notice that the hulking mass of armor that is his brother was nowhere to be seen. Of course, he had searched the area around before he lost his cool. It wasn't uncommon for Al to take a walk while he slept. He had never had anything better to do after all, staring at a wall all night, every night, would be boring as heck. But he wasn't there. Edward had checked everywhere he could possibly be, but he wasn't there, and the more he looked, the more his anxiety grew. What if something happened to his brother while he was conked out!? He would never forgive himself!

Then, Mustang, Hawkeye, Armstrong and the others had looked through some records with him. The only lead they had found was some rich, noble-type man who was rumored to have bragged that he possessed a talking suit of armor, a "rare artifact of alchemy," or whatever. Now, that _, that_ ticked him off more than anything. If there was some jerkhole out there that was treating his brother like an inanimate object, well, then there _would_ be violence. But otherwise, he needed to swallow his emotions down his throat.

That leaded to him being here all by his lonesome surrounded by rich snobs. But he would do anything for Al; he loved his brother more than anything. If there was even the slightest chance that a clue about him was here, then that's where he would go. At least no one had called him short to his face, at least not yet, then he might not be able to restrain himself. Ed made sure that he didn't mention that he was the "Fullmetal Alchemist" to the common misconception surrounding that. Though, almost every person he talked to had commented about how young he was, easily much younger than most of the people here. He needed a break from socializing honestly, which is what he was doing right now.

"What are you doing?"

Jumping to alertness from the voice, Edward glanced to his left to notice that there was a girl about his age, standing next to him, and way too close for comfort. Geez, he didn't realize he had let his guard down that much! Maybe that was what happened to Al, deep in thought, with your guard down… "It's none of your business." He snapped a little, shuffled a step away from her.

"You look awfully bored over here, and spacey." She grinned. "Are all boys your age this zoned out?"

"Are you even older than me?!"

She giggled at his ruffled reaction to which he took a deep breath to calm himself down. He needed to stay calm, for Al. "…Look, if you want to know what I'm doing, I _was_ taking a break, but since you're here, have you heard anything about a talking suit of armor? Or a rich guy whose said to have it?"

"Ooh, are you into spooky things? I absolutely love them."

"There's nothing 'spooky' about it!" Ed defended. "It's just a complicated process of alchemy."

"So you're an alchemist then?"

"Yep, that's right, a pretty darn good one at that." He grinned, before changing gears. "Do you know or don't you? Any sort of thing you've heard could be useful."

"Well I don't, but Yuno might know, he's always gossiping. He's heard just about everything."

"Is he here?"

She nodded and gestured to a young spiky haired brunet in the middle of a small crowd. Filled with a renewed fervor, he discarded social etiquette, shoving his way through them. That easily earned him many dirty glares and insults, but he practically didn't hear them, or just ignored them completely.

"Oh, well, aren't you an eager child." Yuno commented condescendingly.

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, Edward knew right away that conversing with this guy was going to use up all of his patience. But, willing himself to loosen up, he let out a shallow breath. "I heard you're the guy to talk to about rumors. Have you heard one about a talking suit of armor?"

"How interesting that's what you're curious about! However, that little bit of knowledge will cost you."

"What do you want?"

"Something equally as interesting to share around."

"Equivalent exchange huh? I can do that." Immediately, he pulled down his sleeve to reveal his automail arm. "I've got an automail leg too."

"Amazing! Just who are you?"

Mentally preparing himself for the inevitable, he tried to put on a confident grin. Maybe it will be better that Al isn't right beside him to make him look even shorter. "I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist."

The crowd, which had grown much larger due to people's curiosity to eavesdrop on their conversation, erupted in whispers and hushed murmurs. Luckily, the words all meshed as one to the point that he couldn't decipher them. He would much rather not be able to hear them, it was easier to keep his cool then. Unfortunately, Yuno wasn't going to make it easy for him as he let out a loud guffaw.

"You?! I never would have guessed!"

If Yuno didn't know anything about Al, he wouldn't have been able to resist the urge to punch him. Why was everyone _always_ so dang shocked?! He knew he was young, but size had nothing to do with alchemy ability! He couldn't resist retorting this time. "Shut up! I could beat you up with both hands tied behind my back!"

He was surprisingly unfazed. "What would you need to know about a suit of armor for?"

The smaller boy was taken aback by the rapid change of subject. "That's none of your business! Now, since I told you what you wanted to know, you tell me what you know!"

"Alright, alright, simmer down." He silenced him by pointing a finger to a middle aged man on the other side of the room with short ebony hair. "All my sources say that the rumor sprouted from him. Of course, there's no way of telling if the rumor is true or not except by asking him."

Shoving past him, Edward scattered towards the mentioned man, eager to find out what happened to his little brother. However, as soon as he had rounded a corner, he had lost him in the crowd and mentally cursed himself for being too slow. Maybe the man overheard their conversation and was fleeing? Did that suggest that he was scared of Ed, perhaps of a guilty conscience?

Ugh, it could never be that easy, could it? Nothing ever is. He hadn't even gotten his name! Yuno probably knew it. At that thought, he whirled back around and tried to avoid people as he returned to talk to him again. This time, there were only a few people around him, which was fortunate for them, as he didn't have to shove his way through.

"Back so soon?" He questioned, taking a sip from a glass in his fingertips.

"Do you know his name?"

"Straight to the point aren't you?"

"I don't have any time to waste here! Do you know or don't you?!"

"I do, his name is Corda Acaman. He probably retreated back to his mansion, but you might be able to catch him." Before he could ask for directions, he continued. "It's walking distance from here, and shouldn't be hard to find."

Ed was a tad suspicious of how much info was spewing out of his mouth. "…You're not messing with me are you? I don't have time for that."

"Of course not, it's equivalent exchange Elric. This is actually pretty basic knowledge."

"Whatever." He'd just slug him later if he led him on a wild goose chase. In a brisk jog, he made his way for the exit, eyes scanning through the people as he went, just in case he was still here. It didn't take long for him to make his way outside. The air was freezing cold, even with the shirt and jacket he had on, the wind easily reached his skin. However, he could barely feel it, his mind set on far more vital matters. A prickle went down his spine as he sensed someone else's eyes on him.

Geez, had the guy sent his security after him already? If that didn't tell he was of guilty conscious, he didn't know what would… unless the man was paranoid. His paranoia could have nothing to do with Al. Either way, he supposed he would know soon enough. He kept in mind to control himself and use violence as a last resort. It would depict him as the villain if he had attacked and it turned out that there was nothing relating to Alphonse here. He wasn't usually that violent a person but without Alphonse here and the idea that he could be in danger, made him especially irritable and prone to violence before reason, especially if the jerk had done something to his precious little brother.

He didn't even have to question anyone about where the mansion was, as it was the only one near his starting point. It was surrounded by a three meter tall steel gate plated with spikes at the top. Edward hoped he wouldn't be scaling that, though seeing as things were going so far... As he was glancing over to the sides of the building to see that the gate went all the way around, his senses spiked so he whipped back around, ready to fight if necessary.

Two men clad in suits were less than two meters from him. That put him on edge, but he didn't attack, not yet anyway. "What are you doing here?!"

"I was hoping to have a word with your master."

"Mr. Acaman is tired from the events of tonight and won't be seeing visitors until tomorrow."

"Well, I _can't_ wait until tomorrow."

"What is it that is so _urgent_?"

"I _need_ to know whether he has a talking suit of armor here or not."

"That is personal information that is none of your business, _child_."

The golden haired boy twitched and cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to find out either way, better we did this the easy way."

The look they had on their faces could only be described as, 'I knew he was a hooligan!' as they were just about to reach for their weapons…! "Hold yourselves!"

The guards froze as their leader walked forward. Frankly, Ed was a little shocked how open he was after fleeing from him already. Maybe he wanted to see how much he was willing to chase after him?

"Are you sure, Sir? He-"

"This 'child' that you have so dubbed happens to be the Fullmetal Alchemist. I doubt you two could handle someone who managed to make it to State Alchemist at twelve-years-old."

" _Him?!_ "

Taking a deep inhale and exhale, Edward attempted to let out his igniting anger. "Look, I'm going to be blunt. I want to know if that rumor about you possessing a talking suit of armor is true. If it's not, I'll be on my way."

"Why is it that you so desperately need to know? Is it that the 'man in armor' whom you travel with is simply a soul?"

Eyes widening, he was momentarily stunned from how he managed to figure it out easily. But, he quickly shook it off. "So what if he is?"

"Hmm…" The man hummed to himself for a second, obviously deciding how exactly he wanted to handle the situation in front of him.

"Look, if you know something about it but you don't tell me-"

"Follow me." He interrupted before Ed could finish his ominous sentence and headed inside the mansion, trailed by his guards. The blond young man followed without complaint as they headed inside. A warm breeze from the inside of the building greeted him as he first realized he had been shivering from the elements outside.

His gold eyes scanned the interior dotted with pricy and exotic goods on every shelf. The carpet was an extensive design of gold and black, imported from another country far away. The shelves, each had carvings in them, one of a transmutation circle caught his eye. There were a few couches that were made from a leather he didn't recognize and were stuffed with cushioning. But he didn't have time to admire the sights. There was nothing condemning him to kidnapping his brother, not yet anyway.

Acaman lead him to another room just as spacious, this one bountiful with green and freshly watered plant life and a few small trees adorned with flowers that reached the six-meter ceiling. A whiff of unfamiliar scents joined together in an obnoxious harmony, causing him to sneeze, before light headedness struck him. Cursing under his breath, the feeling spread throughout his body as he covered his mouth. _It's these plants…!_ _The odor they're letting off…_ But it was too late, he felt his body already becoming sluggish and he groped for a table to steady him before he fell. _I was too careless…_

"…You think you can get away with this… you sneaky bast…"

From his blurry and faded vision, he couldn't see if the man was even still here or not when his legs gave way in a loud crash of flesh and metal as he crumpled to the ground as his conscious faded. _I'm sorry… Bro..ther…_

…..

 _When he next opened his eyes, the area around him was completely white and he floated as if he weighed nothing. He was back in his original clothing, black tank top, jacket and red jacket. The next thing he noticed was that his arm was no longer metal but was skin and bone again. There was a haze on his mind as he frowned at himself. 'I didn't die, did I?' He thought._

 _Well, better to check out where he was… He hummed to himself as he walked through the white expanse. There was nothing to obstruct him or distract him but he also couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him. As he kept up the search, he spotted a blond boy standing on solid ground, diamond ground. He jolted as he recognized him, it was Al! But not as a child, as a teenager, a fourteen-year-old a tad more broad, and tall than Edward._

 _He didn't wonder how or why, all that mattered right now was his little brother. As he hurried over and tried to close the distance between them, he felt the solid ground on his feet again, not one of them metal, as he called his brother's name. "Alphonse!"_

 _The other boy flipped around with a wide smile filling his features. "Brother! It's so wonderful to see you!" With speed almost incomprehensible, he rushed over to him and wrapped his arms around his neck. His voice was cracked, on the verge of tears as he exclaimed. "I can feel you, Brother! I can feel you!"_

 _Instinctively, not even thinking about it, Edward wrapped his arms back around him, a sense of elation feeling him at being able to feel his brother again. He hadn't been able to do this for so long…_

" _Isn't it wonderful, Brother?" Al sniffed, already having lost his battle to control his emotions. Overwhelmed with emotion and seeing his brother crying, Ed couldn't hold in his tears either._

" _Yes…"_

 _After a few minutes of simple staying in the same position, Edward came to a conclusion that shattered his heart in bits and pieces. Of course, this wasn't real. They hadn't restored Alphonse's body yet, and he doubted they both had died, since Acaman wouldn't kill his precious artifact. He had to be hallucinating._

" _Brother…" Edward began gently, but the younger sibling beat him to the punch._

" _I know… I know this isn't real. But, can't we stay like this for a little while longer…?"_

" _But… I need to be getting back. We could be real danger out there, Al."_

" _Alright…" Al pulled away from his brother with a weak smile, and wiped away his tears._

" _Don't worry Al, I promise you, I promise that this will become a reality. I'll make it real, no matter what it takes."_

" _Of course, Brother, I trust you and I can do it together."_

…..

"…ke up!"

Without warning, the older sibling jolted awake, eyes snapping open. Mind still fogged, he attempted to scramble to his feet just to tumble back to the ground against the enormous figure behind him. The figure had his hands steadied on his shoulders, easing him back down. "It's alright Brother, I'm fine."

At the familiar voice, Edward flipped his head around. "Al?! I thought you-"

"I'm okay, Brother. Calm down… You hit your head pretty hard in the fall."

At the mention, the older brother raised his fingers to his forehead to find a tad bit of velvet. A glance at his surroundings revealed he was in another room than where he passed out. How did his younger brother arrive here?

"Are you alright?" He concerned, helmet tilting down to indicate that his gaze was focused on his brother.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Edward insisted, scooting over a little from Alphonse who was holding him up gently. Reason had taken over the fogginess of his mind's state, restoring it back mostly back to normal. He doubted he had hit his head that hard. "But didn't that freak kidnap you? Or am I missing something here about why he drugged me with his plants?"

"Let's talk about that later. We should leave here for now."

"No way in heck I'm going to allow him to get away with treating you like an _object_!"

The blond attempted to scramble upright again, only to be unable to catch his footing and Al rose swiftly to steady him. "He's long gone, Brother."

"What?! How long was I out?"

"Well… I found you like this a few minutes ago, so I don't know. But it was dead silent in here; I doubt he would stick around."

Swearing under his breath, Edward leaned off of his brother and carefully caught a hold of his footing. He sighed. "…Guess we can't do much about it then. That coward."

Taking a careful examination of his younger sibling, he noticed no pieces chipped off or missing of his armor body, but there were a few scratches and dents spread out across his chest plate. That was no problem, he could fix that easily. Wordlessly, he took a breath, and placed his palms together. As quickly as he noticed them, they were gone.

"Thank you. Can we go now, Ed? We can probably find a first aid kit for your head…"

"Right. But I want to know what happened to you." Being inseparable as they were, he could tell that Al was uncomfortable to share details, which concerned him, but also nudged him to go first as he walked carefully forward. "When you went missing, all of the others helped me track down a rich guy who was rumored to own someone like you. So I went to this party that he was said to be at, and was able to track him down here. Then he told me to follow me inside to his plant trap."

"Hmm, it's weird that they didn't affect him…"

"Yeah, I'm chalking it up to be some exotic plant out there that makes you hallucinate when it lets off its scent the strongest."

"You hallucinated, Brother? Was it painful? I didn't see you thrashing or anything."

"Well… Not exactly. It was more vivid than any dream I've had though." _And I'd rather not share it,_ came the unspoken message from his tone. He was embarrassed for the raw unhindered emotions that lie there. Catching the hint, Al didn't press further.

"So? What happened to you, Al?" Edward pressed, eager to know the the gritty details.

The boy next to him paused for a moment before replying, choosing his words carefully. "Well, I went to take a walk as I often do, when I heard your voice, further out. But when I went to investigate- it was a trap."

"Dang, he must have snuck a microphone in the room…" Ed muttered. "I bet he can't even defend himself in a fight."

Alphonse nodded in agreement. "I didn't even see his face until they brought me back here, and when I managed to escape, I found you there."

"What did he do to you?" Edward didn't want to press his brother for details too much, but he also wanted to know how much he should want to kill Corda.

"…He chained me to a pedestal."

Instead of lashing out and cursing him again like he did before, the smaller blond just brooded for a few moments before a devilish grin found his way to his lips and his voice reeked of venom. "You know Al, I _still_ feel a little dizzy." He leaned heavily against one of the nearby bookshelves holding some of the priceless artifacts they had before while some of us had been removed. It toppled with a loud CRASH. Al had no comment about this. Better to break his stuff than his body. When he was finished, his rage had mostly subsided and they were able to exit without difficulty where Al could bandage his brother's forehead.

 _Fin_

 _Apologies if the ending was a bit abrupt. I need to work on those. Anyways, here's a bonus. I hope you enjoyed the story as I did writing it!_

The fourteen-year-old could swear he heard his older brother's voice. He was positive he hadn't imagined it; it was far too silent for that! However, each room was in itself massive and each sound echoed off the walls, making it difficult to originate where the song came from. Each room he poked his head into revealed nothing. The only sound he could hear was the clanging of his armored steps, each step shattered the silence.

The room he was in now had a wooden table in the center and was flooding his vision with a lush emerald of life. Normally, he would have admired it, but now wasn't the time. A gold and brown blob of color caught his attention as he hurried around the table to receive a look. What greeted his eyes was his older brother lying sideways and still as a stone. If he could breathe, it would have caught in his throat at the sight.

" _Brother!_ " Dropping to his knees, he clutched his brother by his shoulders and began to shake him. "A-are you okay?! Can you hear me?!"

A soft groan was a pleasant response as he feared that Ed might have been already dead. However, he was completely limp and his head leaned back into his armor. The younger sibling glanced at all the plants in the room. _Could they have done this to him? I don't recognize any of these species…_ Deciding it best to take him far away from these unknowns, he gently scooped him up in his arms, careful of any broken bones he might have.

Once he was satisfied with the distance, he set him back down again, waited a few minutes, and attempted to wake him again.

"Brother? Wake up!"

 _Bonus Fin_


End file.
